What happens when our precious plans collide with the seeming less desirable plans that God may have for us?  We have been faced this week with the news that our time here in the States will be cut short an entire month and a half in order to comply with the requirements of our visa application in Indonesia.  What we had envisioned as a somewhat busy yet still restful last two and a half months of our home stay has now turned into a very tight and probably hectic 6 weeks.  When those kinds of collisions occur in the “calendar” of life, who wins and how do we respond?

We are planning to be back in Jacksonville Florida around the 23rd of August.  We are really looking forward to connecting with many of you during that time in FL.  We want to invite all of you to attend a luncheon September 14th at Christian Family Chapel.  At that time we will be sharing with you the direction we see God leading us, as we head back to Indonesia.  Especially now that our time will be shortened we hope you will plan to join us.  It’s possible that we will be leaving to go back to Indonesia as soon as the 17th of September.  We really hope to see you before we leave.

Well back to our original question, how do we respond to those collisions of authority?  Really it is a question of authority isn’t it?  Who has the final say in our life, not who should have that authority but when it gets down to how we live our lives, whose priorities are foremost?  Joshua really said it well in his exhortation to the nation of Israel, “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD”  Don’t get me wrong this is not the kind of submission to authority that cranks your arm behind your back demanding submission, “or else!”  It’s the kind of authority that calls us to lift our eyes above the immediate circumstances and see Him as the trustworthy Good Shepherd.  So although we will miss all that an extra month and a half might have afforded us, we are, with what faith we have, trying to hope in God to make it what He wills, for His name sake.

After His Glory,

Tim & Andrea Ullum